How Faith Influences the Co-Founder of Bellhops

Starting a business is a risky endeavor. At the age of 25 the Lord was calling Cameron Doody to do just that. In 2011 Cameron and a friend launched what is known today as Bellhops, a modern moving company that combines technology and a talented workforce to provide a fun, friendly, and professional moving experience. It is in over 15 cities and was named Best Company Culture of 2015 by Entrepreneur Magazine. As a man of faith, Cameron quickly learned that starting a company and seeking the Lord in the midst of it all was easier said than done. I had the chance to meet with Cameron Doody and talk to him about his experience in building a company as a Christ-follower.

Tell me a little about your vocational journey.

The early twenties is a scary time. I had no idea what God wanted me to do. I was experiencing a lot of anxiety and lack of fulfillment in my current job, which ultimately led me to starting this company. I quickly learned that starting a company is all consuming. It was not your typical 9-5 job, and I found it difficult to invest time in my spiritual life. I unintentionally lost closeness to Christ in the first two years purely because of time. It seemed like everything other than this company and my wife was taking a back seat. God never left my mind, but there were times where my natural tendency was to clam up and try to do everything myself.
Ultimately, trying to build a company and not having Christ as my immediate thought caused me to have anxiety attacks. I physically needed God. Experiencing anxiety attacks was a huge wake-up call for me, and I knew that I couldn’t do this alone. Since then I have strived to seek Christ before all things, but it hasn’t been easy. The demands of building a business are real and tough.

How have your Christian values manifested themselves in your business specifically?

The culture here at Bellhops is very positive and family oriented. Bellhops is built on a foundation of truth, honesty, and integrity. Christianity shines through in unstated ways: how you react to things, how you prioritize things and how you treat other people. If you are truly living your life for Christ, that should be clear and as a believer, it is our responsibility to act in a certain way.

Is there a book and or mentor that has helped you in your faith and business journey?

A huge mentor for me throughout the years has been Krue Brock. That man is good at understanding when something isn’t being said. He reaches out to me when I’m not doing well. He encourages and lifts me up. I have seen the power of prayer through Krue in how God puts it on his heart to pray for me and reach out to me when he does. It is so important to have somebody like that in your life when starting a company.

What does being a Christian business leader mean to you?

When you are put on a pedestal and put in the lime light where you are leading and providing for a lot of people and families, you have a responsibility to act in a certain way, and clinging to Christ is of the utmost importance for me. If you are truly living your life for Christ, it should be clear in the ways you care for your employees.

What are some verses you rely on in your job, or that help you form your bases of Christian values for your company?
But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” Joshua 24:15
I think this is such a perfect verse to consider at work. Work is a place that can consume a lot of your thoughts, and certainly a lot of your time. Are you serving yourself, or your company? Or are you here on earth to serve the Lord? This is a great reminder of what is really important.

Do you have any specific advice to future Christian business leaders?

From the start, think about whether you are going to build a Christian organization and one that welcomes anyone. It is an important question to ask. As Christians, we are called to bring non-Christians to Christ. How best can we do that? You can’t do that when you are in an echo chamber (only surrounding yourself with other Christians). As a Christian you have an obligation to build an organization based on Christian values, whether employees are believers or not. To bring in employees that do not consider themselves Christians is a God-given opportunity that as a leader I believe we shouldn’t let slip away.

If you could say one thing to other Christian business leaders or to business leaders as a whole, what would it be?
Don’t be afraid to voice your faith. Bringing faith into any conversation is not an automatic pass. It’s hard to justify a faith based decision unless your company is openly rooted on Christian values, it’s almost impossible to make decisions otherwise. If you want to be making faith based decisions at work, build a company openly based on Christian values.

Cameron didn’t do everything perfectly; he even admits today that it is still a struggle integrating his faith alongside his work. Yet Cameron is continually striving to understand what it means to live faithfully in the world of business. Praise God that there is grace for all, and praise God that there are men and women out there like Cameron seeking to unify corporate America with Christian values.

We continue our new series on how faith influences business with William White and his story. Our goal is to find out how their faith influences their business, the role of Scripture, their role in the Church, and more.

He believes that God was leading him “always and in all ways.”

“William, are you going to do something special? When are you going to find your career?” William White’s grandmother was always after him to make his life count for something special. Many years later, he is President of Gabriella White, a holding company named in her honor, overseeing 350 employees at furniture companies Summer Classics and Gabby.

His career path took many twists and turns, but he believes that God was leading him “always and in all ways.” Growing up, he spent summers working in the warehouse of his father’s fledgling business, Summer Classics, an outdoor furniture company. Loading and unloading trucks in a hot warehouse, he remembers as “rough work in a rough environment.” And it left him with a bad taste in his mouth. He did not want to work for or with his dad at Summer Classics.

But after a stint in banking, and a promising sales job at a chemical manufacturer, White began to reconsider his options. He could stay with the chemical company, which would involve a move, or his father held out a tantalizing prospect: start an indoor furniture company under the Summer Classics label, helping the company avoid the seasonal downturn endemic to the outdoor furniture business.

He took the bait, and launched “Gabby” in January, 2010 – the midst of the recession – with a 1,500 square foot showroom in Atlanta. Today the Gabby line is found in showrooms all over the US, and it has been profitable every year. Gabby and Summer Classics now operate out of a 500,000 square foot warehouse/showroom where 220 employees are housed, with 13 additional retail stores across the USA.

Working with his father as he launched Gabby had challenges, but White believes that “faith is an integral part of how we maintain our close relationship and run the business.” The father and son work successfully together because of their strong faith, and they consider themselves best friends. “The culture at Summer Classics has become better because of the two of us working together – two heads are better than one,” he jokes.

The company’s statement of Core Values is ingrained in everything they do. The statement was derived from a study of scripture, which White relies on for daily guidance leading the business. Every employee is held accountable to those values in their regular performance reviews.

Last year he invited his weekly Bible study leader to come into the office every Friday, to be available as a Chaplain for employees to talk to.

White nurtures his employee relationships and tries to be positive every day, remembering that “if the boss ain’t happy, nobody’s happy.” Relationships are the area where he strives most to model his faith. Last year he invited his weekly Bible study leader to come into the office every Friday, to be available as a Chaplain for employees to talk to. This gives employees a venue other than the Human Resources office where they can share personal issues, problems at home, or other relationship issues. The Chaplain listens, counsels and disciples those who come to him. White says, “I think it’s working well – but it’s really not any of my business. I pray that employees are taking advantage of this opportunity to receive counseling – but it’s all very private.”

White wants the workplace to be “kind of like a club. We work hard to find the right people for every job – those who fit the requirements, want the job, and have the capacity to get the job done. And once you’re in the club, you want to stay there because of the people around you.” When mistakes are made, “we try to model compassion and forgiveness in the workplace,” White says. The company has a “3-strike rule”, giving employees who make mistakes an opportunity at a second, and even third chance.

The companies in the Gabriella White family strive to give back to the communities they serve, helping previously homeless families get into furnished housing, donating to cancer research in honor of a 17-year employee who lost her battle with the disease, and offering physical and logistical support for emergency response when disasters strike.

“Scripture is the most important thing – living in the Word.”

When asked if there were specific books which guide him in his business faith practices, White said, “Scripture is the most important thing – living in the Word.” He has many verses that he goes to as he lives out his faith at work and at home.

From Titus 2:7, “in everything set them an example by doing what is good.” In Proverbs, he cites 3:1-3, “My son, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart, for they will prolong your life many years and bring you peace and prosperity. Let love and faithfulness never leave you.” And from Philippians 2:1-2, “Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind.”

He is also led by the verses in Proverbs that speak to letting God direct your paths and seeking wise counsel. His favorite parable is The Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25:14-30. He prays that as he honors God in the workplace, God will honor him by saying, “well done, good and faithful servant.”